The Three-Trillion Shilling Market

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November 07, 2025

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In today's newsletter, the Nairobi bourse witnessed a spectacular week as it crossed the three-trillion shilling threshold after an impressive Thursday rally. Also, read why Kenyan brands are missing opportunities to market themselves through one of the most passionate avenues, sports.

The Three-Trillion Shilling Market

By Harry Njuguna

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has crossed the KSh 3 trillion mark for the first time in its history, a threshold that once felt out of reach. The rally that pushed it there has been almost entirely homegrown, driven by a surge of domestic investors who have made the market their own. Whereas foreign money once dictated the rhythm of Nairobi’s trading floors, Kenyans are now pouring record sums into equities through digital trading platforms and mobile apps. What began as a quiet recovery has turned into a phenomenon, lifting nearly every sector and restoring a long-absent sense of faith in the market.

The Pump Levy That Became Collateral

By Brian Nzomo

Kenya’s road ambitions are once again running faster than its finances. To keep the construction push alive, the government is pledging an even larger share of fuel levy revenues to investors. It is a familiar maneuver in a country where infrastructure dreams often outpace the Treasury’s means. Yet each round of securitisation deepens a quiet dependency, binding future motorists to the debts of present-day builders. For now, the strategy keeps stalled projects moving and contractors paid, but it also tightens the loop between public debt and the price of every litre at the pump.

The Compensation Waiting List that never grows shorter

By Brian Nzomo

The backlog of wildlife compensation claims has swelled to billions; debt that captures the country’s uneasy balance between conservation and survival. For years, victims of wildlife attacks and families who lost loved ones, livestock, or land have waited as files crawl through layers of bureaucracy and shadowy committees. What began as a promise to protect rural livelihoods has turned into a slow ledger of suffering, one that grows longer each year. As the government delays, trust in the conservation bargain quietly erodes, replaced by anger and tourism fatigue.

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The Uneasy Union Between Nairobi and Dar

By Fred Obura

Kenya and Tanzania are once again testing the strength of their friendship. As trade and labour ties between the two neighbours deepen, old frictions over how citizens are treated across the border have resurfaced. Nairobi has formally raised cases of alleged mistreatment of Kenyans in Tanzania, even as both governments publicly reaffirm their commitment to the East African ideal of free movement and cooperation. Beneath the diplomatic language lies a familiar tension between integration and sovereignty, trust and control.

OPINION: Sports, The Last Island of Attention in a Noisy Media World

By Peter Gacheru

In an age of fractured media and fleeting attention spans, sports remain one of the few platforms where audiences still gather in real time, united by emotion and shared experience. This article argues that for brands, sports offer an unmatched opportunity for authentic engagement. Kenyan companies often limit sponsorships to logos and perimeter ads, missing the deeper value of storytelling, fan interaction, and community investment. By turning sponsorships into long-term partnerships and leveraging digital tools for direct fan engagement, teams and brands can build loyalty and measurable impact.

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